Cuban official says parliament to return to historic Capitol building after 5 decades

HAVANA – Havana's Capitol building will once again play host to Cuba's parliament for the first time in five decades.

The Capitol has not been used as a legislative seat since 1959 because it was long considered a symbol of the old regime thrown out of power by Fidel Castro's revolution.

City Historian Eusebio Leal's office has been overseeing a multi-year restoration of the building, which is remarkably similar in appearance to the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

Cuban lawmakers typically meet twice annually to approve legislation in one-day sessions. Leal said that beginning this year, they will move into Capitol offices and also hold their gatherings there instead of at a convention center in western Havana.

Leal did not give a date for when the building will be ready.